RECAP: The Opening Miami Regional

RECAP: The Opening Miami Regional

As one of the best camps on the circuit in terms of elite talent, Nike’s “The Opening” Miami Regional has been bringing together the best of the best in South Florida to compete on the gridiron for years now.

And the 2019 version of the camp did not disappoint: over 200 of the area’s best prospects again came out to show their stuff versus the cream of the crop this past Sunday and earn an all-expense paid invite out to Dallas, Texas to compete in “The Opening” Finals.

With the 2019 class wrapped up and in the books, of course the focus of the camp was the rising seniors of 2020, but others in the 2021 and 2022 classes made a name for themselves as well.

Keep in mind, there is always a lot going on at once, so it is impossible to see everybody compete at all times. But for my money, here are my top performers from the Opening Miami Regional.

Chaney won RB MVP at the event after showing off his short area burst and acceleration in the cat-and-mouse drills usually reserved for much smaller athletes than the 5’11 195 pound Chaney. He also recorded the second highest SPARQ score at the event and made more than a few defenders look silly. Consider him the real deal.

Fleming was wide-open the entire day and the only way he wasn’t scoring TD’s was due to poor throws by the QB’s. What I liked most was his ability to beat press-man coverage despite his smaller frame. Getting physical with the speedster didn’t seem to make much of an impact, and he was easily blowing by most DB’s he faced.

McDougle’s ability to cut and create separation is next level and the ease at which he can break off his path and smoothly transition to the open field is something to watch. Don’t get me wrong, he still has plenty of speed, but his route running is top-notch, something that will really translate well to the college game.

Another speed and quickness type receiver under 6 foot has made this list in Jones-Bell, and it is not by accident the smaller dynamos seemed to be getting more open than their larger counterparts. Quickness is a huge asset at these type of camps and Jones-Bell has plenty of it. Despite a bigger frame than McDougle or Fleming, Jones-Bell moves just as fast, and the fluidity of his movements sets him up to make easy catches against overmatched DB’s.

The most impressive part of Dumervil was how well he carries his 300 pound frame; he can easily add another 25+ pounds and you probably wouldn’t notice that much because of how his weight is distributed. Dumervil played most of his day at RT and was a stud, zooming straight into the Final 5 Lineman and locking up DE Samuel Anaele on all three of his reps there.

Pinder was hard to handle for the guards at the Opening yesterday and was very disruptive on the day. The interior lineman was light on his feet and showed some explosion off the snap. He’s slightly undersized at 5’11”, but that didn’t stop him from being a force against a quality offensive line group in Miami.

Bryant got a lot of buzz as the toughest defensive lineman to go against after talking to a few offensive linemen that competed in the event, and that was backed up when he received DL MVP on the day. There were more than a few reps where it didn’t even look like he was really challenged and was able to throw opponents out of his way like a rag doll. Bryant’s great power and deceptive quickness made him a dangerous man at the event.

Wingo is a freak athletically and somebody at his size should not be able to move that well. Wingo finished with the third best SPARQ score on the day, won LB MVP, and played seek-and-destroy with just about every running back in attendance. It felt like Wingo was just designed for these drills and he was shutting down everything while running sideline to sideline. The crazy part is that I still don’t think he’s even close to hitting his upside.

Garcia has really taken a leap in his game since I last saw him. He’s always been a steady presence at the second level that simply makes plays, but his overall athleticism and flexibility has steadily been catching up. He finished in the top 15 overall in the SPARQ testing and he is looking more and more like a complete linebacker. The only rep I saw him lose was to RB Jaylan Knighton, no shame in that.

After being originally listed as a safety, I was skeptical that Cavazos could really hold up at corner. Those concerns are more than gone now, and Cavazos not only proved he could play on the boundary, but that he was one of the best overall athletes in a stacked field. The SPARQ score champion locked up most everyone he faced, even showing off great recovery speed on one rep it looked like he was beaten on, closing the gap between him and Jones-Bell quickly to make the pass breakup.

Francois picked up right where he left off during the season, grabbing multiple picks on the day in the 1-on-1’s. His ball skills continue to be elite and he looks to be getting more and more comfortable on the outside. He can run and cover with just about anyone and can be safely left alone on an island. Francois’ potential as a shutdown corner is tantalizing.

Tate lost only one rep the entire day on his way to OL MVP and was the only underclassman to earn an MVP designation. Tate has really improved his frame and put on some quality weight in the past year or so, and the quickness with which he can get into his slide and move his feet has been unaffected. Therefore, he is tough to bully with power or beat with speed on the edge. He is a prototypical left tackle that keeps getting better.

Seymore saw some reps on the edge against Tyreak Sapp and was predictably exposed at tackle. When he played on the inside, Seymore was clearly much more comfortable and was able to rely on his raw strength. He was so impressive on the inside that he made the Final 5 despite the earlier hiccups at tackle, and he won 2 of his 3 reps to come out on top in that competition.

I expected a lot of quickness from Sapp working on the edge, but I was more impressed with his bull-rush and how easy he was knocking some of the best O-Linemen backwards. He ran into the wall that was Marcus Tate during the Final 5 and got stoned on all three reps, but Sapp showed off his mix of rushing skills throughout the event, even making Seymore in particular look pretty bad on back-to-back reps at one point.

Even though he just missed making the Final 5, Harris continued his assault on offensive linemen even though you know he is always going to try to go around you. His pure speed put most opponents on skates and with his insane first step, he is difficult to even get a hand on. Harris has slowly been putting on weight and has that perfect frame that you can really envision developing into a monster with a proper nutrition and strength training program.

What stands out about Armella is how physically impressive he is despite being a freshman. He blended right in with the upperclassmen at the event and didn’t look out of place at all. Armella won the majority of his reps with strong hands and quick feet, and even showed some fire getting into a shoving match after a heated rep. He has all the tools to develop into a top-tier force blocking on the edge.

Notes

**The list of those who earned invites to the Opening Finals in Texas included: Cavazos, Chaney, Anaele, Knighton, Henry Gray, and Marcus Rosemy.

**Lejond Cavazos won "Fastest Man" at the Opening Miami with a 4.42 40 in the final heat.

**Columbus RB Henry Parrish did not participate despite originally being scheduled to play due to a leg injury suffered in a recent track meet. It’s not considered serious and he should be recovered soon. American Heritage and UM commit S James Williams did not show up either after being listed on the roster.

**In addition to Armella’s shoving match that required multiple coaches to break it up, Donell Harris also got into a extracurricular scuffle in lineman 1-on-1’s that left his jersey torn. Harris came back to win his next two reps in dominating fashion.

**Chaney wanted it known that he is shutting down his recruitment, not taking visits, and wants to focus on his senior season and building the Canes’ 2020 class. He said Parrish is his biggest want to end up in the class with him and that doubters of Miami will be “silenced” when the 2020 class gets on campus at UM. I think it’s safe to call him solid.

**Fleming told CIS after the event that he is not looking around at all, has no other visits planned, and is “100%” in with Miami after meeting new WR coach Taylor Stubblefield at Junior Day.

**Cavazos loved his Miami visit over the weekend and has a deep connection to the UM coaching staff: apparently his father and Manny Diaz have known each other going on 25 years now. He seems very open right now after decommitting from Ohio State and says LSU, Alabama, UGA, Florida, Ohio State and Oregon are standing out to him along with Miami.

**South Dade OL Jonathan Denis is planning a UM visit for next weekend and claims that he’s met new OL coach Butch Barry “at least 10 times by now”. UM is really treating Denis as a priority to get him back in the class. Oregon, LSU, FSU, and Mississippi are others standing out here.

**Miami continues to be in the mix for Jones-Bell, but keeps indicating that Alabama is out in front. It seems like it’s going to be tough to keep the Carol City product home.

**2020 STA linebacker Devon Betty has not had much contact lately with the staff at UM and may be falling on the LB board. Betty also has offers from OSU, Texas, Michigan, FSU, and Oklahoma.

**Donell Harris claims he is solid with Miami and is considering visiting campus again next week. He is also considering taking visits to FSU, UF, and Texas A&M. Harris says he was working Romello Brinson and Kahlil Brantley to commit in the class, which they eventually did, and says his next target is Marcus Tate, who he feels will eventually be a Hurricane.

**The Canes continue to seem like the leader for Tate, who wants to focus on more on his junior season, school, and improving his game than recruiting. That has led to a lack of visits for other schools and why you continue to see Tate show up at UM when he is in the mood to deal with the process. Tate is considering a UM visit this week. It’s a very favorable situation for Miami right now.

**Miami, Louisville, and Oregon are out in front for 2021 Miami Northwestern DB Kamren Kinchens. Kinchens recently landed a UM offer and Miami has put themselves in a good position here early.

I put my heart in this sh!t

Fleming was wide-open the entire day and the only way he wasn’t scoring TD’s was due to poor throws by the QB’s. What I liked most was his ability to beat press-man coverage despite his smaller frame. Getting physical with the speedster didn’t seem to make much of an impact, and he was easily blowing most DB’s he faced.

All-ACC

Also Andy just transferred to STA from Heritage and he played every backer position and DE for them. I’m real interested what he’ll look like at backer full time. I thought watching him as a sophmore that he would develop as a top 200 kid and he tested like one.

Recruit

Manny is working hard and has taken up the recruitment as his own. Wingo was turned off by Miami under Richt so it wont be easy but I think its possible and I actually dont think he inks with PSU. We will see

Legendary Super Saiyan

Ecush and Gru play back door man....

Manny is working hard and has taken up the recruitment as his own. Wingo was turned off by Miami under Richt so it wont be easy but I think its possible and I actually dont think he inks with PSU. We will see

Senior

Guys like Jones-Bell make me wonder. If you so in love with a team, why don't you commit? Or do programs like baga tell them not to so that other programs can't use committed prospect to negatively recruit with players at the same position.

Redshirt Freshman

Manny is working hard and has taken up the recruitment as his own. Wingo was turned off by Miami under Richt so it wont be easy but I think its possible and I actually dont think he inks with PSU. We will see